23 Mar Philips Sonicare DiamondClean

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean with 5 Brushing Modes

If like me you’ve always been of the belief that one toothbrush is the same as any other, you’ll be just as surprised as I was to find that’s simply not the case. As it turns out, there are all kinds of toothbrushes that take cleaning your teeth to another level. Personally I love my coffee in the morning, but manual toothbrushes never seem to quite get all of those coffee stains off your teeth. This means you have to use special whitening toothpaste to really stay on top of things. Well, there are actually some high-end electric toothbrushes that claim to remove up to 100% more plaque than these manual toothbrushes we’re used to – this means whiter teeth without all the extra effort.

At the higher end of the electric toothbrush market you’ll find the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean. This toothbrush not only cleans your teeth, it guides you through the process to make sure you’re doing it right. It includes some pretty cool innovations, but they come at a price; you can expect to pay as much as $200 for this toothbrush, although prices may differ over time. Still, if you’re used to paying $3 or $4 for a toothbrush it’s hard to justify such a big leap in price.

Pick Your Mode

Probably the most important difference you’ll find with an expensive brush like this one from Philips is that it comes with five different brushing modes. There is a mode for simple cleaning, one for whitening, one for polishing, one for gum care, and one for sensitive teeth. That kind of choice ensures that you have all the options you need to take proper care of your teeth. I don’t mean to sound like a dentist here, but that’s a great selling point in and of itself.

Personally, I’ve always found manual toothbrushes a little tough on the gums from time to time, whereas an electric toothbrush like this relies on oscillating technology to gently massage the gums no matter which mode you’re in. There’s nothing I hate more than sore gums, so the gum care mode was especially interesting to me.

Whitening Power

I don’t think most of us notice how stained our teeth become over time, but they certainly do and that’s generally when we need a trip to the dentist. With an electric toothbrush like this, capable of removing so much more plaque than a manual toothbrush, you can avoid more frequent trips to the dentist as well – so you may want to consider the savings from fewer dental visits against the cost of this brush. My dentist is a nice guy, but I’d rather keep my money in my own pocket than his.

The Sonicare DiamondClean is called diamond clean for a reason – the bristles are actually diamond-shaped. This allows them to more easily extend into the harder-to-reach areas in between your teeth and around the gums. It gives you a better clean and a brighter smile – there I go again, sounding like a dentist!

Timing Is Everything

As it turns out, you’re supposed to brush your teeth for two minutes every time. Who knew? Seriously though, this is the recommended amount of time that dentists suggest, and this Philips electric toothbrush is designed to make it easy to track how much time you’re brushing your teeth at each session.

Your mouth is divided into four quadrants and it is suggested that you brush each quadrant for 30 seconds. To help you with this, this toothbrush uses a technology called quadrapacer. Essentially, after you’ve completed 30 seconds brushing in one quadrant, the toothbrush will pulse, indicating it’s time to move onto the next one. It will do this four times during your brushing session for each quadrant, which will give you a total of two minutes brushing time. It takes the old-fashioned counting method you might be using in your head right now and makes things a lot simpler.

The Glass Is Alive!

If the title of this section caught your attention I’m not surprised. Okay, the glass isn’t really alive, but it does have a pretty cool function. You can use the glass that comes with this toothbrush for rinsing your mouth after brushing, but it’s also designed to charge your toothbrush! Basically, you fit the glass into a charging station which is plugged in, and when you want to charge your toothbrush you simply place it in the glass and it will charge. This might be the coolest technological innovation I’ve ever seen in a toothbrush.

You can also charge your toothbrush by slotting it into the travel case, which can then plug into your laptop via a USB or into the wall. The USB option is great if you’re traveling in a country that uses a different voltage than yours – all you have to do in this case is find a relatively inexpensive wall plug in the country you’re visiting and slot your USB cord into it.

Not Everyone’s in Love with It

I think when you’re spending this much money on a product that normally only costs a few dollars your expectations are raised. This is definitely true in the case of the DiamondClean Sonic Electric Toothbrush. One of the biggest problems that people have with this toothbrush is that it takes up to 24 hours to charge, but on the flipside that charge will last you about three weeks, so it’s not the end of the world.

What does concern me a little more is the limited lifespan of the product and the expense of the replacement brush heads. A three pack of replacement brush heads will cost you somewhere around $30 to $40 – that’s a fair bit of money to spend on replacement brushes.

I’m Just Not Sure

There’s no doubt that this electric toothbrush by Philips is a great product, but if I’m going to spend this much on a toothbrush I’d expect it to do the brushing for me, hands off. Seriously, I love the fact that it has five different modes and the charging glass is really cool, but I don’t think that’s enough to convince me.